I don't do a ton of deals a year, and I really like working with startups - it's the only way I can invest. It fits my ADD brain.
Kevin RoseLetting users control your site can be terrifying at first. From day one we were asking ourselves, "What is going to be on the front page today?" You have no idea what the system will produce. But stepping back and giving consumers control is what brought more and more people to the site. They have a sense of ownership and discovery at the same time. If you give users the tools to spread and share their interests with others, they will use them to promote what is important to them.
Kevin RoseDon't spend too much time planning, release early and often, some things will work, others won't, refine and move forward and above all forget the money, just make sure you love what you're doing.
Kevin RoseThe key to making money in angel investing is saying no. You meet with 100 companies and say no to 99 of them.
Kevin RoseFounders: there is no shame in failing, take pride in that you have the guts to try something new.
Kevin RoseYou don't need anyone's approval and in fact, you probably won't get it, so don't even try. Build, release and iterate. Make a list of the features you want to create over the next six months and get going! For small companies, once a week; for larger companies, maybe twice a month.
Kevin RoseWhen you look at what makes America great, what makes America, you know, not great, our ups and our downs, Springfield represents all of it.
Kevin Rose